Crossing Boundaries
by maiistarr
Summary: Tawny is Louis' cousin and he falls for her. Twitty likes Ren. What happens when they cross the boundaries and everyone seems to contradict? My first fic ever-pls. read and review.. :) new chapters 6,7,8
1. Louis won't get up

CHAPTER 1  
  
"Louis, get up!" Ren said while tucking on his shirt, desperately trying to get him up.  
  
"Yeah, whatever." He grumbled but still not getting up from his bed.  
  
It was the day when they were supposed to pick up Tawny Dean, their cousin. Actually, she really isn't part of their family but she became one when Steve's brother adopted her. Her parents left her because they were not ready to be parents since she was a project of an unfit relationship. She never knew who her parents were and she always didn't want to talk about them. The sound of that subject makes her feel really, really uncomfortable, not to mention angry.  
  
"Louis, for the hundredth time, will you please get your butt off your 'oh- so-tidy' bed and get ready. Tawny's plane will be arriving at exactly 12:15 and do you even have any idea what time it is?! "Ren stammered.  
  
"Uhh.. time for you to leave me alone??" Louis sarcastically replied.  
  
"You know what, that's just it," she said. "Why am I even bothering to wake up such a lousy brother like you? No, no. In the first place, why did God ever gave me such a useless pest?!" she continued. Ren walked out from his room, pissed off and all. She called Donnie to do the job for her.  
  
"Louis, if you want to see Tawny, you will have to get up now!" Donnie shouted at his brother from his room. He was fixing himself up and was almost ready to go. There was no response from Louis.  
  
So, Donnie went straight to Louis' room, "Louis, you've left me with no choice."  
  
He grabbed Louis' from his bed, wrestling style, and soaked him inside the bathtub.  
  
Tawny was all set to meet her foster uncle, aunt and cousins. She's researched about them, even. She knew that Steve and Eileen were very warm and hospitable. She also found out that her aunt is into politics. She knew that Donnie was the oldest among the three kids. He's into sports and has won several medals from all sorts of different competitions. About Ren, she knew that she was the most talented one in the family. Ren's the smartest and the type who wouldn't mess up with any teacher. She was already set to be with a family like this one, especially since they seemed like all achievers and were very notable in the community... until she knew about Louis. She looked at his picture and said to herself,  
  
"The youngest and the weirdest, too. Maybe this vacation may be more adventurous as I never thought it'd be."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"We would've arrived earlier if Louis didn't have to be such a lazy bonehead," Ren complimented sarcastically to her brother.  
  
"Straight-up dork!" Louis answered back while some of the cookie crumbs flew out of his mouth.  
  
Ren disgustedly answered her brother, "Dimwit,"  
  
This caused a pretty normal cookie fight between the siblings. Even though Donnie was beside Ren and in front of Louis, he didn't mind them since he was too busy eating his pack of Ruffles. Even their parents were busy talking to one another about Tawny and Steve's brother Martin. But this cookie fight didn't take long until Louis threw a big piece on his mom's head.  
  
"If you two don't stop at this instant, both of you will spending the night in just one bedroom, without fan, without lights and without any of your stuff!" Steve emphasized in the two while Eileen was busy cleaning up the crumbs from her hair.  
  
"That's alright, I can't sleep with the lights on," Louis answered. Ren, Steve and Eileen looked at Louis with a warning look.  
  
"What, I was just saying," Louis answered 


	2. Tawny and the Stevens

CHAPTER 2  
  
"Flight 307 from Orlando has finally arrived. Flight 477, destination to Detroit will be boarding in just a few moments," the ground attendant announced on the P.A.  
  
"See, we were just right on time," Louis told Ren in a sardonic manner.  
  
"Whatever..." Ren defended  
  
"Kids, stop it!" Eileen warned the two. "Ok, Steve. How are we going to know if she's Tawny?" she faced her husband and asked.  
  
"Just look for a girl who has brown hair. I've seen her in one of Martin's pictures. I'll know it's Tawny when I see her." Steve answered, stretching his neck to find Tawny.  
  
Louis went to his dad's side and asked, "By the way Dad, where will she stay. I mean, where will her stuff all go?"  
  
"She'll be staying with Ren..." still trying to find Tawny with the huge pack of people walking at the opposite direction who just also arrived.  
  
"Oh, is that her?" Eileen excitedly asked pointing to a girl who was wearing a red long-sleeved polo and jeans. She also had a hand-carry bag that has a "The Beatles" design.  
  
"Yeah, yeah!! That's her." Steve answered. Then he started waving his hands to let Tawny know that it's them. "Tawny, Tawny!"  
  
The young girl finally saw them and approached the family.  
  
"Hi!" she greeted them with a big smile.  
  
"Oh my! Are you Tawny?" Eileen excitedly asked.  
  
"Yeah, pretty much." Tawny answered.  
  
"Oh, welcome dear! It's so nice to finally meet you," Eileen remarked as she hugged the pretty girl. Steve also hugged her after introducing himself as the brother of her dad. Then, the parents introduced their kids.  
  
"Tawny, this is Donnie," pointing at the most masculine guy in the family.  
  
"Hey!" as he stretched out his arm to shake her hands.  
  
"Hey!" she answered back then stretched out her left arm, too.  
  
"Hi, I'm Ren! How are you?" Ren said after the shaking of hands of Donnie and Tawny.  
  
"I'm doing fine. Just a little dizzy, I guess," Tawny replied with a smile.  
  
"And this is our youngest," looking for Louis although he was nowhere in sight. Until Tawny saw a brown haired guy, running with a chicken on his hands while a short, stout guy was behind him.  
  
"Is that him?" pointing at the weird kid holding a chicken running wildly, making a lot of people notice him.  
  
"Yup! That's him!" Ren answered Tawny with a 'not-so-proud' look.  
  
After picking up all Tawny's stuff and finally fixing the problem with the Mexican guy who owned the chicken, the Stevens family finally went to lunch on a Chinese restaurant. Even though Tawny said that she was full, Steve and Eileen still insisted on treating her to a lunch. There, the family was given a chance to get to know her more.  
  
"So Tawny, where did you go to school back in Orlando?" Ren questioned her first. Louis was really focusing on eating his wanton noodles and was, as usual, messy eating it. Although Tawny was trying not to notice Louis' piggy-kind of eating, she took slight glances towards his direction, and was being kind of annoyed already.  
  
"Ohh, my dad used to send me in Melrose Abbey. I really didn't like it there though because people thought I was weird and all, which I really wasn't," Tawny answered after having a dumpling.  
  
"Hmm... interesting. Don't worry! In our school, no one really cares if your weird or eccentric or whatever." Ren replied.  
  
Tawny looked up, looking at Ren.  
  
"Not that I'm saying that you're weird or anything. It's just that I want you to feel welcomed..." Ren quickly defended.  
  
"It's ok. Really. I understand what you mean," Tawny broke, letting Ren know that she understands what she means. Then she gave her a smile and went back to eating her dumplings. Ren went back to eating her food, too, only a bit embarrassed.  
  
"Hmm... so what do you usually do? I mean do you have any sport or anything?" Donnie asked, breaking the silence.  
  
Tawny wiped her mouth with the table cloth and answered, "Oh.. I don't really have a sport. I'm more of a performing arts person. I like to act,"  
  
"Act? You act?!" Louis asked, pointing at Tawny. She looked at him and nodded.  
  
"You know, I had a classmate once and he was into acting. He did this scene in one activity in school and his pants slid off," Louis continued  
  
"Haha... it was hilarious! No, mortifyingly funny," he added after a boisterous laugh  
  
"Louis," Ren cried in an exasperated tone, "Shut up." Then she turned to Tawny, "Excuse my brother, he's just a big bonehead. All he ever does is trick people. A total pest."  
  
Tawny nodded with a smile, as if she understands. Louis, on the other hand, looked up and defended, "Yeah, if I'm such a bonehead, she'd be the geeky- squash-faced-class-valedictorian-popular-cheerleader-type-wannabe who lives beside my bedroom."  
  
Tawny silently giggled. This family's kinda funny, she thought, especially Louis. 


	3. Twitty enters the picture

CHAPTER 3  
  
The two siblings fought non-stop till they got home. It's a usual cycle- Louis annoys Ren then Ren gets mad and defends herself...minutes later, they're completely fighting over the smallest, most petty things.  
  
When they got home, Donnie went to his friend's house. Steve and Eileen rested in their bedroom. They were tired from all the hectic schedules they had all through out the week. While Ren showed her bedroom to Tawny where she was supposed to stay in, they decided for her to have the guest room instead since Ren's room was overcrowded though it was clean and perfectly organized. Ren went to her parents bedroom, knocked, "Mom, Dad, Tawny will be staying in the guest room. We'll just fix it, ok?"  
  
There was no response, just a mere snore from her father.  
  
"Yeah, I'll take that as a yes," Ren replied.  
  
Louis, on the other hand had his own business. That is to watch T.V. and to wait for his best friend to arrive. He was watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and was laughing his heart out when the doorbell rang. He got up from the couch when, at the same time, Ren was coming down the stairs to get some cleaning tools to fix the guest room.  
  
"Hey, man!" Louis greeted his best friend, Twitty who was standing right in front of him.  
  
"Hey there, Lou? What's up?!" Twitty answered as they did their usual handshake. They proceeded to the couch when Ren came back, holding some rags and a pail of water and soap.  
  
"Ren, I thought you already took a bath?" Louis teased. Ren raised her left eyebrow on Louis.  
  
"Hey Ren, you need help?" Twitty asked as Ren put down the pail.  
  
"You know, it's ok. I'll handle this on my own. I wouldn't want to disturb your business with that 140 fat standing beside you," Ren answered on her defense.  
  
"Hey! Hey, I'm not 140 ok? I'm just..." Twitty interrupted Louis.  
  
"No really! Louis and I would love to help," then he got the pail from Ren.  
  
Louis cried, "What? Wait a minute?! Who said I'd help?"  
  
"Thanks! That'd be great! Tawny and I would definitely need all the help we could get," Ren thanked.  
  
Louis was about to answer but Ren and Twitty started walking up the stairs. He had no more chance to complain so he had no choice but to follow them and help clean the guest room.  
  
"Hey Tawny! We've got some Santa's little helpers here," Ren told Tawny as she entered the guest room. Tawny walked towards Ren and got herself a rag. Behind Ren was a guy holding a pail of water with soap.  
  
"Tawny, this is Alan Twitty," putting her right hand on Twitty's shoulder after he had put down the heavy pail.  
  
"We call him Twitty though," Ren continue.  
  
"Hey! I'm Tawny," Tawny said to Twitty.  
  
"Twitty," he answered then gave her a warm smile.  
  
"Well, since everyone knows everyone, we could all start working now," Ren initiated.  
  
Just then, Louis entered from the door and cried,  
  
"Hey guys, do we really have to clean this up?"  
  
Everyone looked at him with a 'yeah-duh' look.  
  
"Fine! Do I have much of a choice," Louis answered. 


	4. Cleaning up

CHAPTER 4  
  
"Ok! Tawny, Louis, you can take the windows, the bed and the t.v. Twitty and I will take the cabinets, the floor and the dresser," Ren ordered.  
  
As everyone were to proceed to their respective jobs, Louis just had to ask,  
  
"Wait, why can't Twitty and I be partners?"  
  
"Well, if you two get together, I'm pretty sure you're never going to finish anything. If you and I are partners, we'd just end up fighting," Ren answered.  
  
After Louis finally agreed, everyone started working. Once, when Ren was trying to reach for a box on a high shelf from the cabinet, she fell from the chair she was stepping on. Luckily, Twitty was able to catch her even before she hits the floor. Unfortunately, though, Twitty lost his balance causing both of them to fall. They laughed hard as they stood up. Louis and Tawny looked at them with a weird 'huh?' look on each other.  
  
"You used soap this time," Twitty remarked suddenly with a laugh.  
  
"What," asked Ren after a giggle. She was trying to dust off all the dirt that was caught on her shirt.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Twitty answered immediately and all of a sudden aloof with what he might say to her.  
  
Louis and Tawny on the other hand were busy cleaning up and getting to know more about each other. He found out how smart and serious Tawny can be, then get quirky the next second. He also knew that Tawny never had a boyfriend before and of course, was really into acting. Tawny found out that Louis was into playing the dirty tricks on people and has been trying hard to put up an image after the 'almost-perfect' image his brother and sister have put up. She also found out that Louis was in a band together with Ren and Twitty, some guy named Tom and a kid who loves bacon named Beans.  
  
"So, you play the drums?! That's pretty cool," Tawny remarked  
  
"Yeah. Actually, Ren takes the vocals. Twitty and Beans gets the guitars," he replied.  
  
"Wow! So, are all your songs original," she continued.  
  
"Yup! Most of them, we compose all by ourselves. Neat, huh?! But actually, we need a few tunes coming from an organist," he replied.  
  
"Oh, well, do you guys have an opening," Tawny asked.  
  
Louis replied, "Well, do you have a recruit?"  
  
"I don't have one but I do have myself," she answered.  
  
Louis looked up from sweeping the floor,  
  
"You play the piano?"  
  
"Ever since I could talk," she answered.  
  
"Cool! We'll see in Thursday in our next band practice," Louis said.  
  
"Cool!" Tawny replied.  
  
Everyone was able to finish their assigned chores and did a pretty good job on it. Tawny, as a thank you to her newfound friends, offered to treat them to lunch tomorrow.  
  
"Great!" Louis exclaimed. 


	5. Band practice

CHAPTER 5  
  
Tom Beans, Twitty and Louis were already at the Steven's basement where they usually hold their band practice every Thursday. Everyone was putting up their instruments except for Beans who keeps on munching on his bacon- flavored chips. After a few moments, Ren and Tawny went down from the stairs. Twitty got pretty startled upon seeing Ren. If Louis hadn't snapped in front of his eyes, it would take him a lot longer to go back to reality. Louis looked up at his sister and cousin, and found Twitty's actions to be very suspicious whenever Ren's around.  
  
"Ok guys, you ready," Ren excitedly asked.  
  
Everyone nodded and went to their positions. But, before starting to practice, Louis announced,  
  
"Hey guys! You know that we've been looking for an organist for sometime, right?"  
  
Then he approached Tawny and stood by her side.  
  
"Well, we've got someone who wants to try-out," then he placed his arms around Tawny's shoulders.  
  
"Oh, yeah! By the way, Tom, Beans, this is Tawny Dean. She's our cousin and is living here," Ren introduced.  
  
"Hey there," Tawny greeted.  
  
"Hi," Tom answered back. "I'm very glad to have met you. Somewhat, my circle of friends has again been expanded. My heart is just overwhelming with joy," Tom continued as he placed his right palm on his chest.  
  
"Ok, Tom. Don't scare the pretty girl away," Louis teased.  
  
Tawny smiled as Tom went on his way and shrugged off the teasing. Beans, who was behind Tawny, smelled her hair and said,  
  
"Hmm... your hair smells like roses. Mine smells like bacon... and I love it,"  
  
Tawny giggled and replied, "You must be Beans!"  
  
"Yup! I sure am!" he proudly proclaimed. "I'm Louis' little partner when it comes to trick and several other important missions..." Before Beans could even continue, Louis stopped him by placing his hand on Beans' mouth and said,  
  
"Ok, Beans! That's a good introduction! Now, let's see if Tawny can play some real tunes."  
  
Beans kept struggling to get loose from Louis grasp. Louis let him go and Beans went straight to eating his chips again. Everyone else go to work.  
  
"Ok Tawny, what can you play," Twitty started.  
  
"What do you want me to play," Tawny replied.  
  
"Do you have anything in mind," Ren asked.  
  
Tawny took a deep breath and started playing the organ with an original piece. Ren, Twitty, Tom and Louis were practically astonished and impressed. Even Beans stopped eating for about 10 seconds. After playing, Tawny looked up and asked,  
  
"So, what do you guys think?"  
  
Everyone looked at one another and Ren exclaimed,  
  
"You are so in the group!"  
  
"Welcome to the StevensTwittyConnection," Beans greeted.  
  
"This is just a wonderful experience! This is definitely going on our documentary,"  
  
Everyone laughed and after congratulating Tawny as their brand new member, they resumed band practice. Now, the band was complete... and they're ready to become the next big thing. 


	6. School's back

CHAPTER 6  
  
School's back and so are a few known personalities in Ren and Louis' school. Tom, Twitty and Louis are in grade 8 while Ren's on her 9th. Since Tawny is going to the same school the siblings go to, she has the almost the same schedule with Louis so they end up being together, most of the time. Ren was still the school's assistant principal and Principal Wexler still had the hardest time disciplining her goofball brother. Coach Tugnut still was training Donnie and kept some of his gruesome tryouts, practical tests and dodge ball games going on. Everything was pretty much the same for Louis and Ren, except for the fact that Louis was practically bombarded by different guys who want to court Tawny and that Ren has fallen in love with Bobby Deaver.  
  
One particular day, Ren announced on the P.A. that the school will be having a play directed by Ren herself. It was her own rendition of the movie Moulin Rouge. She made it for theater than for the big screen.  
  
"The school play will be holding auditions for the characters. For those who are interested, you can sign up by the bulletin board near the cafeteria. Auditions will start tomorrow, after dismissal time."  
  
As Ren was announcing this, Twitty, Tawny and Louis were walking down the corridor. Tawny stooped b her locker while they listened. After the said announcement, Louis said to Tawny,  
  
"Hey, Tawn. Why don't you try-out for this play Ren's talking about?"  
  
As Tawny got her books, she replied,  
  
"I don't know. I don't think I'm good enough."  
  
"What do you mean you're not good enough?! You made Tugnut believe that you were allergic to the sun when you jus didn't want to burn your skin," Louis said.  
  
"Yup! That was priceless," Twitty added with a nod.  
  
Tawny giggled as she closed her locker. Then she turned to the two.  
  
"You know what, I did make him believe, right?! Ok, I'm gonna do this," she said with a proud smile.  
  
On the day of the try-outs, Ren had chosen a few advisers to help her in deciding who fits well for the supposed characters. One was Principal Wexler, the other was her Literature teacher, Ms. Crook and last was Coach Tugnut, who is the theater adviser for this play.  
  
"Tawny Dean," Ren cried out.  
  
Tawny stood before the judges and the crowd. Louis, Twitty and Tom were behind Coach Tugnut, giving their moral support.  
  
"Ok, Tawny. Star whenever you're ready," Ren said.  
  
Tawny took a deep breath and finally started her piece. Everyone was obviously moved and did pay attention. She took a slight bow after,  
  
"Wow! That was just so good," Ren croaked as she swiftly wiped a tear from her eye.  
  
Tawny went up to her friends who were so proud of her.  
  
"Tawny that was amazing," Tom complimented as he clapped his hands.  
  
"Yeah! You were so awesome," Twitty added. "You're definitely in for the lead role.  
  
Tawny gave a shy smile and replied,  
  
"Thanks guys!"  
  
"What can you say, Lou," Twitty asked.  
  
Louis looked at Tawny and answered,  
  
"You were great! You're... amazing," Louis exclaimed in reply.  
  
She gave a wide smile and thanked Louis.  
  
Three days after the auditions, Ren posted the final casting. Most of the students came by the bulletin, even the ones who are just curious and didn't even audition for any role. Louis and Tawny headed the board near the cafeteria to check if she got in. There was a crowd of students looking at the list and it was hard enough to squeeze in. However, Louis was able to help Tawny push her inside.  
  
"Oh my God," Tawny cried out from the inside, seconds after she got in.  
  
"Tawny?" Louis cried out, worriedly.  
  
"Oh my God, Louis," she exclaimed.  
  
"Are you ok," he asked.  
  
"Tawny stretched out her arm, "Louis, a little help here please!"  
  
Louis grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the swarm of students. As Tawny pushed herself outside and saw Louis, she cried out,  
  
"I got it Louis, I got it!"  
  
"You got it? You got it," Louis asked, excitedly as Tawny was freed from the crowd.  
  
Tawny breathed deep and nodded.  
  
Louis got excited and proclaimed to everyone, "She got it, ladies and gentlemen. She got it!"  
  
A few people looked and laughed as they saw the two, happily hopping together in joy. Tawny hugged Louis with much excitement. After she and Louis had let go of each other, he slipped from a banana skin and fell on his back. He fainted and the next thing he knew, he was in the school clinic... 


	7. Security and Assurance

CHAPTER 7  
  
"He will be ok, Tawny. Stop worrying now," the nurse at the clinic reassured the young girl who was sitting beside the sleeping Louis.  
  
"Thanks," Tawny replied with a smile.  
  
"You were... worried," Louis asked as he opened his eyes slowly. Tawny faced him and answered,  
  
"Hey, are you ok?"  
  
Louis tried to get up from the bed but then he felt a pang of pain at his lower back, causing him to lie down on his bed.  
  
"Ow!!!" he cried out.  
  
Tawny held Louis' right hand and helped him lie down properly.  
  
"You should stop moving too fast, goofball. You'll just hurt yourself more," she told him. She gave a shy smile and added,  
  
"I called your parents already and they're coming as soon as your dad's meeting's finished. Ren couldn't make it since she has a meeting too and Twitty has basketball practice. Oh, and he reminded me to tell you that he'll just drop by at the house after."  
  
"Looks like I'm gonna sulk here all by myself," Louis said, sounding pitiful.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll stay with you," she answered.  
  
Louis smiled and teased,  
  
"Your hand feels good."  
  
Tawny and Louis glanced at their hands. She took hers quickly and replied, jokingly,  
  
"Well, you know, hand lotion sometimes works a miracle."  
  
They laughed until Louis remembered Tawny's part in the play,  
  
"Wait, what about the play?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry. Ren's got it all covered for me," she replied.  
  
Twitty's basketball practice finished earlier than usual because Coach Tugnut has to bring her wife to a salon for a free hair wax. Twitty, after shooting some more hoops, quickly got in the shower. After doing so, he dressed up, got his bag from his locker and decided to go to Louis' house. As he was walking towards the school's gate, he passed by the school theater and heard Ren's voice. He looked inside and just had the strong urge to see what was going on inside. As he walked down the aisle, he picked a seat at the center by the left side. From about 3 rows before him was Bobby Deaver, the guy he hates the most in this whole entire dimension.  
  
"Ok guys! I'm going to put up our schedules for practices, dress rehearsals and meeting s by the board. Please do check it once in a while. Does anyone have a question," Ren assumed that everything has been clearly understood by everyone.  
  
"Well, I'll see you all tomorrow," she cried out as the students went marching on home. Ren turned around and saw Twitty behind Bobby.  
  
"Hey Twitty," she greeted him with a wide smile. She walked down from the stage and went to get her bag. Bobby, on the other hand, stood up and greeted Twitty. Ren walked up to them and asked to Twitty,  
  
"What are you doing here, by the way?"  
  
"I just, you know, stopped by to see if Tawny was here, but since she's not, I'll go ahead," he answered as an excuse and grabbed his backpack.  
  
"Aren't you going to see Louis," Ren asked.  
  
"Well, yeah," he replied.  
  
"Then if that's the case, then maybe you ought to come with us. I mean, we are heading the same direction," Bobby suggested.  
  
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Ren agreed.  
  
Twitty had no choice but to say yes. So the three headed for the theater door and walked on to their own respective homes. Ren and Bobby had talks while Twitty remained quiet and observant. He saw how comfortable the two are together and that he envied Bobby so much. When it was time for Bobby to take another road, Ren said,  
  
"Bye, Bobby! I'll see you in school tomorrow."  
  
"Bye Ren, bye Twitty," he answered.  
  
"Bye," Twitty greeted.  
  
After Bobby disappeared, Ren and Twitty went on. They remained quiet until Ren finally decide to break the ice,  
  
"Hey, Twitty, is there something wrong?"  
  
"Oh, nothing I was just thinking of some stuff," he answered.  
  
Ren nodded in reply and went on. Twitty glanced at her and finally had the courage to ask her the hardest question he waited, and practiced, for so long.  
  
"Hey Ren, are you and..." Ren faced him innocently. Twitty had to breathe deep because his heart was pounding like crazy.  
  
"...are you and Bobby..." he just couldn't seem to say the word.  
  
Ren looked at him, quite puzzled, and guessed,  
  
"Dating?"  
  
How did she know? Do I look like I'm playing charades, he thought.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Oh, we're not," Ren replied. A big smile painted over the constipated look on his face. He could actually feel nice already until Ren added,  
  
"How I wish we were, though."  
  
Twitty suddenly did not know what to feel: the nice, easy, fun feeling when he knew that Ren wasn't dating Bobby or the sledgehammer that was pounded on his chest for a million times.  
  
"Oh," was all he could say.  
  
Then, Ren started telling Twitty how she had a crush on Bobby for the longest time, how she wanted to tell him the way she felt and all that. Twitty wanted to put earplugs just so he wouldn't be able to hear every single detail about her stories. This, he thought, would have to be the longest, most painful time that I'll have to bear with.  
  
After spilling everything to Twitty, she concluded,  
  
"I'm sorry if I got super excited in telling you all of that. I just... I just felt nice telling you some parts of me."  
  
""It's ok. I understand," he replied with a smile.  
  
"Uh, could you please not tell this to Louis," she asked as she opened the door to their house.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll never tell," he promised. 


	8. What's up with you?

CHAPTER 8  
  
Ren opened Louis' door and saw her brother lying on the bed with Tawny sitting beside him. Twitty was behind Ren,  
  
"How are you," she asked, sounding a bit concerned.  
  
"Yeah, what happened to you, man" Twitty added.  
  
"He slipped on a banana skin," Tawny answered.  
  
"I fell on my back and the next thing I knew, I was in the school's clinic," Louis continued.  
  
"Can you go to school tomorrow," Twitty asked.  
  
"I can't, buddy. I have to stay here for a couple of days," he answered.  
  
"That's too bad. You'll have to rest here, I guess," Ren told her brother.  
  
"Yeah," Louis replied with a nod.  
  
"Uhmm... could you excuse us. Tawny and I. I need to tell her about the meeting we had for the play," Ren excused. Tawny stood up and the two went downstairs to discuss about the play.  
  
"Ok, Tawny. You are going to play Satine and Zach will be Christian. The duke will be..." Tawny suddenly coughed at the mention of her teaming up with Zach.  
  
She got the script from Ren,  
  
"Zach? As in airhead, thinks-he's-a-pupolar-guy Zach?"  
  
"Yup," Ren answered, looking all innocent. She knew that Tawny hated that guy so she added,  
  
"Look, Tawny. I know you hate Zach cause he's this really huge airhead who thinks he's all that, but I have to admit that he's perfectly fit for the role."  
  
Ren looked at Tawny, hopeful, "Please, understand. I mean, this play is a huge thing for me. I really, really need your help. Please? Can I count on you?"  
  
"Yeah, sure!" Tawny replied with a smile. "Nut, I must remind you that if he takes one wrong move, I'll be good to g," she added.  
  
Ren smiled and thanked Tawny then they continued discussing about their play.  
  
As Louis was telling his best friend about a book he read on a new computer game, Twitty broke in.  
  
"Hey man, I need to talk to you about something."  
  
Since his buddy looked serious, he threw the book under his pillow and looked at Twitty.  
  
"Why, what's the matter, man?"  
  
"I don't even think I should be telling this to you," Twitty hesitated.  
  
"Com on, man. We've been friends since, like, we were in our mom's womb? Spill it, man" Louis persuaded.  
  
But before Twitty did, he locked Louis' door first then sat beside Louis.  
  
"Looks like undercover huh," Louis joked.  
  
But Twitty's face remained stern and then he finally started.  
  
"Lou, you know that feeling when it seems so nice to be with one person that does not happen to be your best buddy or your hotdog pillow?"  
  
"What," Louis asked in confusion.  
  
"You know, when you feel nice with a specie of the opposite sex," Twitty explained.  
  
"Well, yeah. I get that all the time," Louis replied.  
  
"Really? With whom," Twitty continued.  
  
"With Tawny," Louis replied, casually.  
  
"No," Twitty said, "Tawny's, like, your best girlfriend. I mean, someone you want to walk with every time, the one girl you love to see smile, that one particular person, out of all the women in the world, that you'd want to e with?"  
  
"I told you, Tawny," he answered.  
  
"Ok, let's put it this way. Do you feel high when you see Tawny smile," Twitty asked.  
  
"Yeah! I like cause she has this sparkling thing going on with her eyes," Louis said.  
  
Twitty stood up and continued,  
  
"Do you like her company?"  
  
"Of course!"  
  
"Do you love Tawny?"  
  
"Yeah," Twitty stared at him in shock. Louis suddenly realized what he had just said. "I mean, no! I don't know," he added, fast.  
  
After a few seconds of silent thinking from both parties, Louis asked,  
  
"Wait a minute, why are we all of a sudden on the 'love' subject?" emphasizing on love, crossing his arms. "Are you not telling me something that your conscience has been bugging you to tell me," he added, suspiciously.  
  
Twitty breathed deep and sat beside his best friend. Then he spilled it,  
  
"I like someone but I'm not supposed to like her."  
  
"What? I don't get it? It's not like she's Tawny or Ren or..." Twitty coughed at the mention of his sister's name then he looked away, making Louis conclude that it was his sister that Twitty likes.  
  
"Ren?" Louis exclaimed. He couldn't bring himself to believe what his best friend was saying.  
  
"You like Ren," he cried out once more.  
  
"Louis, will you please keep it down," as he placed his left palm on Louis' mouth. Then he started explaining everything to Louis who keeps on contradicting. But after all the explanations and feelings said, Louis still understood his buddy, or at least he tried his best to. 


	9. Poor knightindistress

CHAPTER 9  
  
Louis went down and found his parents sitting at the dining area while discussing the current news. Donnie was eating his cereals while talking to the phone with coach Tugnut about their practices. Louis caught sight of Ren, writing remarks on a bundle of paper then taking a bite from her creamy pancake. Louis didn't see Tawny near the dining area so he thought he was still dressing up. He sat beside Donnie and grabbed a piece of toasted bread and took a bite. Eileen looked at her youngest son observantly and asked,  
  
"Louis, honey, you look tired? Didn't you sleep well last night?!"  
  
Louis looked up,  
  
"Uhmm... I did! Maybe it's just because of the stress with what happened yesterday," he lied.  
  
Actually, the real reason was because he was up all night, tossing and turning, thinking of what he and Twitty discussed yesterday. All abut Twitty secretly liking Ren and Louis accidentally answering yes to Twitty's tricky question if he liked Tawny more than a cousin should. All this made him tired, not to mention stressed with thinking. Steve had put his newspaper beside his coffee and told Louis,  
  
"Don't worry, you can rest here all day. I asked Tawny to write down your school and home works for you and help you with what you're going to skip."  
  
As Steve mentioned this, Tawny went down from the stairs, carrying her yellow backpack. She greeted everyone a "good morning" and a smile. She took her seat in front of Louis. She put her backpack beside her chair and started to eat her pancake. She glanced at Louis, observed him and asked,  
  
"Louis, are you ok? You look kind of stressed with something."  
  
Louis looked at her then after a few seconds, he replied,  
  
"Yeah, I guess I was. I mean, with the whole slipping thing."  
  
"Ohh..." she answered with a nod.  
  
Louis looked at his sister who was still busy writing notes on the script, "Hey Ren! What are you so preoccupied about," he asked.  
  
Ren looked at him,  
  
"Oh this," she raised the papers she was holding and placed it beside her plate. "This is my script for the play."  
  
Steve, on the other hand offered to take the kids to their school earlier that morning. He stood up from his seat and said,  
  
"Ok, Ren, Tawny. Let's get going before we all get late."  
  
Tawny took her backpack and Ren got her bag. They followed Steve outside and took off.  
  
"Louis, are you sure you're going to be ok while I'm gone," Eileen asked as she handed Louis the last plate. She was called by her secretary to go to their office because she needed to sign some emergency papers to be sent to the Congress. Even though she took a day off to take care of her youngest, she was badly needed in the office.  
  
"Yeah, mom. I'll be fine. You go ahead," he replied, putting the plate inside the cabinet and closing it afterwards.  
  
After a few more minutes, Eileen went downstairs and quickly got her purse. She kissed Louis and told him,  
  
"Louis, sweetie, I will be back as soon as possible. Here's money and just deliver anything you feel like eating." She opened the door and handed him 50 bucks. She placed her right palm on Louis' cheek and said, "I am so sorry that I can't take care of you,"  
  
"It's ok mom. I told you," he smiled.  
  
"Ok, just call if you need anything, alright?! Rest and you take care," she added then went on.  
  
After closing the door and headed to the living room, he turned on the t.v. and watched a movie starring Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder shown on HBO. He decided to grab some food in the refrigerator and maybe some soda, too. His back wasn't hurting as much as yesterday but he still had this pain at the lower part of his back. He slowly got off the couch and went to the kitchen. He grabbed some strawberry shortcake and a Pepsi and closed the ref's door shut. As he was about to go back to the couch, he found the script Ren was so meticulously studying a while ago. He took the script with him and went to the living room. He sat on the couch, put the food on the center table and started scanning and reading the script.  
  
Moulin Rouge, he thought. Tawny got the part! That's pretty cool, he added to himself.  
  
He read the script and also found out that Zach got Christian. He was pretty much ok with that until he reached the end of the script, the scene before the finale number. He read it aloud,  
  
"Christian and Satine look into each other's eyes and feels the connection that they had whenever they were with one another, tears streaming from their eyes. Satine breathes hard, looks down then looks at Christian slowly in the eye." Louis started imagining the scene, only him as Christian and tawny Satine. He makes this goofy, feeling-in-a-cloud-nine sort of smile and reads through.  
  
"Satine: I'm sorry it has to end this way. I'm sorry I had to lie to you. I'm sorry I loved you too much that I couldn't bring myself to hurt you more. I'm sorry, Christian. Christian: I know, that's why I'm here. Then they kiss each other."  
  
He continuous to imagine, until he reaches the kissing part. He gets a wake- up call that its Zach who's going to kiss Tawny. He couldn't seem to agree with his feeling, a feeling of jealousy, towards that supposed scene between Zach and Tawny, the Satine of this poor knight-in-distress. 


End file.
